Theme of my Doctoral Research work
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY, REGIONAL IDENTITY AND SECESSIONIST MOVEMENTS:
A Comparative Study of Telangana and Gorkhaland Movements
Abstract of Proposal
Scholars on secessionist movements have advanced several propositions to establish relationship between economic inequality and regional identity. Those who view economic inequality as predominant cause of regional identity often encompass the notion in broader terminology like relative depravation and politics of marginality. Ted Robert Gurr, Beverly Crawford, Edwin Wilmsen, Viva Ona Bartkus, Anthony Mughan, Milika Bookman et. al., come into this category. Those who dispute the centrality of economic inequality in forging regional identity believe that economic inequality when combined with other factors only can produce separatist identity. Metta Spencer, Bertrand Roehner, Ralph Premdas, Paul R. Brass, Dipankar Gupta, Hurst Hannum, et. al., come into this category. Thus economic inequality appears to be a significant factor in creating regional identity for some and not significant factor for others.
However in reaching their conclusions, most of the scholars had focussed on the empirical reality of the economic inequality between the territory seeking separation and the territory from which separation is sought, rather than the constructed reality created by the movement leaders. That causes the ambiguity in their findings, as there may be a disjuncture between movements' interpretation of the situation regarding economic inequality and the situation depicted by empirical data.
This ambiguity warranted the present study on the role of economic inequality in secessionist movements. The relationship between economic inequality and regional movements will be put to test by adapting the following hypothesis: The primary cause of secessionist movements is perceived economic deprivation while the manifestation tends to be actual economic deprivation.
Telangana and Gorkhaland cases are chosen for comparative study as the former treated as an offshoot of economic deprivation while the latter as for other reasons. This study will focus particularly on two aspects of these movements: First, the empirical data available on actual economic inequality between the territory seeking separation and the territory from which separation is sought and second, the image of economic inequality constructed by movement leaders in their creation of regional identity.
The primary objective of this study is to attempt to arrive inductively to a generalisation about the relationship between economic inequality and regional identity. This study is aimed at resolving the controversy, i.e., to determine the centrality of economic inequality in the identity assumed by separatist movements. The proposed study will help us finding out certain key variables as well as structural and mobilising causes that can be identified and that can inform an appropriate analytical model of secessionist movements. Further the study has its specific importance because secessionist movements are widespread in India and posing significant threat to the economic stability of nation and disrupting the public life. The proposed study may offer a few definitive conclusions to end the hostilities and avert the conflicts.
Research Method
The proposed study will first establish a relationship between the economic inequality, group identity and secessionist movements based on the previous studies. Then the economic inequality will be divided into two categories, i.e., manifest and perceived. Manifestation of economic inequality refers to the actual economic deprivation while perceived economic inequality refers to the image of economic deprivation created by the movement leaders. By differentiating the actual economic inequality from perception of economic inequality the ambiguity in answers to the economic inequality and separatism question can be addressed adequately. The study will look at the actual economic inequality from structural dimension since inequality in access to governmental institutions and customary regional discrimination can put people belonging to a region at disadvantage. Data on manifested economic inequality is primarily quantitative in nature and derived from primary source such as Census of India, available Human Development Indexes and Social and Economic Surveys, Report submitted by the Committee for Consultations on the Situation in Andhra Pradesh headed by Justice Sri Krishna and other reports related to these regions, on economic development and structural discrimination, prepared by various governmental and non-governmental organisations. Data on perceived economic inequality is qualitative and derived from both primary and secondary sources such as news paper statements, interviews and other programmes in electronic media and public speeches given by movement leaders, views of movement supporters on economic deprivation expressed in web blogs, literature supporting economic deprivation in news papers, journals, movement supporting pamphlets etc. The study will also include an examination of parliamentary and assembly debates related to the development of these regions and the opinions expressed by experts in influential journals, books and newspapers.
P. V.V. SATYANARAYANA
Lecturer in Political Science
Government Degree College
RAMPACHODAVARAM
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